Hailed as one of the key areas of nanoscience likely to shape future scientific research, self-assembly offers the most promising route to true molecular nanotechnology. Focusing on this dynamic new field, Self Assembly: The Science of Things That Put Themselves Together explores nature's self-assembly of structures, the use of it to build engineered systems, and the latest advances in the field.
Reflecting the inherent progress of the science of self-assembly, this definitive book first delves into natural self-assembling systems. It addresses crystal growth, soap films, and micelles; examines how nature builds viruses, proteins, and ribosomes; and introduces the protein folding problem. The author then discusses how physicists, chemists, biologists, and engineers are applying nature's principles to self-assemble everything from DNA cubes to millimeter-scale electronic circuits. The final chapters cover theoretical and experimental approaches to understand the phenomenon of self-assembly and overcome its various challenges.